Some Chinese Veterans Question Call to Return to Service If War Breaks Out in Taiwan Strait

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For years, Beijing has promoted a simple message to China’s military veterans: When called upon by the country, they are expected to obey.

Under the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) revised military regulations, which took effect in April 2025, the formal retirement oath concludes with the line: “If there is war, we will return when summoned.”

However, among some Chinese veterans, the sentiment rings hollow.

A recent viral video shows a retired serviceman stating, “Twelve years in the army, my original aspiration unchanged,” before performing martial-arts moves with a broadsword. The clip received mixed reactions: Some praised his patriotism, while others questioned the mental health of veterans.

Behind the online debate lies a deeper issue—many Chinese veterans recently told The Epoch Times that the benefits and job placements they were promised never materialized.

Since that time, he has been employed in construction, manual labor, and most recently as a security guard. He mentioned that he is divorced and facing financial difficulties.

When asked whether he would respond to a military recall if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) decides to invade Taiwan, he said: “I’m already middle-aged. I won’t go. Let those with government jobs and benefits go. They’re better off than I am.”

His comments indicate a subtle but growing skepticism among some veterans about calls for renewed sacrifice.

During this month’s Lunar New Year holiday—traditionally a festive time—various incidents involving veterans emerged across China.

A retired serviceman in Guangdong Province posted a video on social media criticizing the regime’s holiday gift pack for veterans, which consisted only of printed propaganda materials and couplets, not the financial assistance he had expected.

Another video shows an elderly veteran climbing a tree outside a petition office in Beijing’s Fengtai district on Feb. 9, seemingly attempting to commit suicide as an act of protest.

In China, petitioning is an administrative procedure for hearing complaints and grievances from the public. Still, in practice, the petitioning process is merely a formality, as the regime routinely dismisses petitioners and often persecutes those who protest.

One such incident involved Zuo Rongmin, a PLA Air Force veteran discharged in the early 1990s. He alleged on social media that he was retaliated against after petitioning authorities about veterans’ rights. Zuo claimed that he was poisoned while traveling in Guangzhou in 2025 and has filed police reports, but has received no substantial response. Now residing in Guangxi, he said he cannot afford medical treatment.

Beijing responded by creating a Ministry of Veterans Affairs in 2018 in an attempt to enhance benefits, followed by new legislation in 2020 that aimed to formalize these benefits and protections.

Zhang Heli, a Chinese veteran living in exile in New Zealand, told The Epoch Times that the ministry’s establishment was motivated both by concerns over stability and welfare reform. He explained that local governments sometimes provide only limited compensation to certain veterans while suppressing others who organize collective petitions.

Although the mass mobilizations of 2016–2018 have not been repeated at the same scale, smaller incidents continue to surface online, including sit-ins and protest marches by veteran petitioners.

In December 2025, a violent confrontation occurred between police and family members of veterans at a military housing residential complex.

A November 2025 video from Yunnan Province shows an elderly militia veteran who served during the 1979 Sino–Vietnamese conflict kneeling before officials to request a modest monthly subsidy.

A viral video from Jiangsu Province, posted in June 2025, features a veteran at a train station shouting, “Joining the army was a mistake. Joining the Communist Party was a mistake.”

In late January, authorities announced that Sun Shaocheng, a senior official who previously led the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, was under investigation.

Zhang, the Chinese veteran now in New Zealand, noted that how veterans are treated also sends a message to active-duty personnel about their own futures. He said that many soldiers privately express gratitude to veterans who push for benefits but feel constrained from speaking openly.

Li concurred that the bleak circumstances many Chinese veterans face could also affect active-duty personnel.

“The Chinese Communist Party is simultaneously blocking the spread of such negative information domestically and using nationalist messaging to strengthen ideological indoctrination among soldiers,” he said.

Zhang noted that despite the CCP’s long history of ruling through deception, he remains hopeful that both current and retired military personnel will recognize the regime’s falsehoods and propaganda. He advised against supporting what he described as an “evil authoritarian regime,” emphasizing that real progress for the Chinese people will only occur once the CCP collapses.